Leesburg Project Provokes Questions

Tough and sometimes skeptical questions about a proposed $11 million marina, hotel and retail complex at Venetian Gardens in Leesburg surprised developer John Weed.

Weed said he didn't expect the tone of questioning he received from a few residents and business people during a public hearing last week at city hall when he unveiled the latest plans for Lighthouse Key.

For the past year, Weed has worked with city officials in drawing up plans to develop the city-owned park into a commercial hub for Lake County. He has discussed his plans for the project with numerous civic groups, chamber officials and other business people.

But some residents and local business people questioned the magnitude of Weed's plan and whether it could survive in Leesburg.

Weed proposes building a complex that includes four restaurants, a 102-room hotel, a nightclub, a marina, 40,000 square feet of retail space and a 75-foot lighthouse all overlooking Lake Harris with a 2,100-foot boardwalk along the shoreline.

He said he has received letters of commitment from retailers for more than 50 percent of the complex's retail space and at least two national chains are interested in managing the hotel.

Weed said he plans to hire the executive who operated hotels at Walt Disney World from 1971 to 1978 as general manager of the project.

Weed is paying Laventhol & Horwath, an international marketing and research firm with an office in Orlando, for a feasibility study on the project. Two lending institutions are interested in financing the project, he said.

City officials say they want to ensure the project is financially viable before they sign a lease with Weed for the 12 acres now occupied by Pat Thomas Field. Lease negotiations should be complete by October or November.

During the 1970s, Weed bought the old San Juan Hotel in downtown Orlando and spent $1.6 million to renovate the building. The hotel reopened in 1972 but closed three years later because of low occupancy rates.

The lending institution assumed ownership of the hotel in 1974. It has since been demolished and replaced by a new Atlantic Bank building.

During last week's meeting, two businessmen questioned Weed about the economic feasibility of Lighthouse Key.

George ''Mackie'' McCabe, owner of the Chopping Block restaurant and part- owner of Squires' III Supper Club, and Keith Green, part-owner of Snaps Lounge and former owner of the Holiday Inn in Leesburg, called the project a good idea but said they doubted whether the city could support 540 new restaurant seats and a new hotel.

McCabe questioned how Weed could make projections about the project's cost without a signed lease with the city, while Green said the hotel would struggle because it is not on a major highway. A group of Green's associates are interested in building a hotel near the Leesburg Area Chamber of Commerce building on U.S. Highway 441-27.

Weed said he isn't concerned about competing with existing hotels and restaurants in Leesburg.

He said the lakefront location and the activities planned at Lighthouse Key would attract residents from throughout Central Florida while enticing county residents to spend their money in Lake instead of traveling to Orlando, Altamonte Springs or Ocala.